It's an I.B.A. Hang around bird watchers awhile and you’ll hear sentences like, “Have you been to that IBA? It’s awesome!” and “Have you looked into IBAs to visit on your vacation?” Of course, IBA could stand for other things like “International Bar Association” or “Institute of Business Appraisers,” but if the speaker has binoculars around their neck, you can count on the meaning discussed here. The article highlights the six IBAs in Pennsylvania considered to have "global significance" for bird conservation (starred on the map), and there's info on many other IBAs all across the state as well.

Something massive and extraordinary, perilous and strange, is happening, now. It's one of the great spectacles of nature, and until recently it was invisible to us. It's happening high in the sky—in the dark, while we're sleeping—the passage of hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, of birds over North America every night during spring and autumn migration. Now, thanks to new technologies, we can figure out where the birds go. But how do the birds themselves figure out where to go? How and why do they pull off long-distance journeys in the dark? Click here to find out!

Kids’ Corner: Important Bird Areas

Your bedroom is an Important Kid Area (I.K.A.). Birds have their own special places, too, and we have a word search for you with names of the super important places in Pennsylvania that we need to protect for birds. You can also print out coloring pages with birds from those special places. Click here for all the fun!

Click here to learn about B95 and two enchanting books.

Migrating Wonders: The Red Knots

My Dad, George, is 90 and has moderate dementia. He can hold a good conversation for a few minutes, but once a topic changes, he doesn’t remember anything that was said before. You can have the same chat with him many times a day because he doesn’t remember that he already asked you what you’ve been up to, or what’s planned for dinner. But what he does remember is that a bird changed his life. Click here to read more about the joy of Dad's "spark bird."

Flaco, a gorgeous, nearly 13-year-old Eurasian eagle-owl who was born in captivity and had never lived on his own, escaped from New York's Central Park Zoo on February 2, 2023 after someone cut a hole in the steel mesh of his enclosure. He quickly became a favorite of Manhattanites, who marveled at his adaptability in suddenly being able to feed himself and find places to roost. People reported sightings of him on social media, crowds gathered wherever he was spotted, and a New York Times reporter penned multiple stories about him. Several attempts by his keepers to lure him into a cage so they could bring him back to the zoo were unsuccessful.

Sadly, Flaco died on February 23, 2024, a bit over a year after his escape. A necropsy revealed that he perished from the blunt force trauma of crashing into a window, and that a virus and high levels of rat poison in his body surely also had weakened him.

Click here or here to read about the dangers that did Flaco in. For what we can do to protect wild birds from Flaco's fate, check out this article and this one.

Migratory birds are superheroes of travel! May 11 is a special day to watch and admire them—and learn about how to help them survive. This year, the World Migratory Bird Day's theme is "Protect Insects, Protect Birds," since insects are seriously in decline worldwide, and many, many species of birds are utterly dependent on insects as food. Click here to learn about this global, awareness-raising celebration.

Do you live in the Lehigh Valley? Click here to find out about the Lehigh Valley Bird Town Coalition's rewarding activities!

EDITOR'S NOTE: We welcome suggestions and content for the Bird Town Bird Beat. Submissions can be sent to pabirdtown@gmail.com for consideration. Note that submissions will be accorded full consideration but do not ensure inclusion in the newsletter.

Credits for images can be found here.